Sylvester Stallone says he warns people not to do their own stunts after he 'never recovered' from injuries he sustained on 'The Expendables'

• Sylvester Stallone sustained long-term back injuries after performing his own stunts in "The Expendables."
• He underwent his seventh back operation on season two of "The Family Stallone."
• The actor says that after his injury, he warns people not to do their own stunts.

Sylvester Stallone is still facing the consequences 14 years after doing his own stunts in "The Expendables."

Stallone's persistent back pains were a focal point of season two, episode four of the actor's Paramount+ reality TV series "The Family Stallone." While squeezing in a boxing session with his brother Frank and actor Frank Grillo, Grillo asks Stallone how his back has been doing since the last time they saw each other.

"I thought I was going to be OK," the "Rocky" star says. "I had my back operation, which is why you should never do your own stunts."

Stallone explains that his current health issues are the result of him doing his own stunts in "The Expendables," when he was 62 years old.

One particular fight scene with wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin resulted in Stallone breaking his neck and getting surgery for a hairline fracture. He previously opened up about the long-term injury in his 2023 Netflix documentary "Sly," saying that it "did such a number on my body."

"There's something kind of romantic about 'doing your own stunts,'" Stallone says on "The Family Stallone." "There's something very unromantic about after doing your own stunts."

"I did stupid stuff," he tells Grillo. "I was directing 'Expendables,' and like an idiot, I'm doing take 10."

"I never recovered from 'Expendables 1,'" Stallone adds.

Stallone says that his experience in the action franchise led him to caution other people against ending up in a similar situation.

"After that film, I was literally, physically, never the same," he says. "So, I warn people, don't do your own stunts." 

"But anyway, if they ever need a remake of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' I'm ready," he jokes to Grillo.

Later in the episode, the cameras follow Stallone as he undergoes his seventh back operation.

"It's very scary for our family every time Sly has to go through surgery, 'cause you never know," his wife Jennifer Flavin says. "No one knows."

After the surgery, Stallone is in good spirits and is ready to continue his regular activities.

"I'm hoping this is the one to make him live a more comfortable life," Flavin says.